


Somebody to Love

by Jinkxedparty



Category: Bohemian Rhapsody (Movie 2018) Actor RPF
Genre: Cross-Posted on Tumblr, F/M, Fluff but with very mild angst, Kid Fic, Original Characters - Freeform, Self indulgent dad!joe cuteness, dad!joe, relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-16
Updated: 2020-05-16
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:00:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24217072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jinkxedparty/pseuds/Jinkxedparty
Summary: Writer and director Joe Mazzello has been raising twins Daisy and Joey for the past four years by himself. After meeting his new neighbor Y/N, Joe begins to realize there’s more out there for him than his kids and his career.
Relationships: Joe Mazzello/Reader
Kudos: 2





	1. Chapter 1

You were in shock to say the least when you found out that you had qualified for the upcoming Winter Olympics with the US Snowboarding team. Qualifiers were a few weeks ago but the officials explained that they needed to run background checks on all potential Olympians to make sure they were compliant with the International Olympic Committee guidelines. Your final time was by far the fastest out of all your competitors, so you were prepared for the official phone call, but the shock was still there when it was official. 

Needless to say, once the team was announced, you knew your life was never going to be the same, but you couldn’t let that get to you during training. The upcoming games were in Lake Placid, New York, and you knew the mountains there weren’t like the ones you trained on out west. Luckily, your best friend Jade needed a roommate at her new house she was renting in upstate New York. It was close enough to a ski mountain that you could stick to your training regimen your trainer sent, but it also helped you keep somewhat of a normal life.

The first couple of weeks after you moved in, you didn’t really pay attention to the other houses that surrounded yours, or their inhabitants. You would catch small snapshots of their lives during your morning run, but there was one that always caught your eye in the early morning light. 

Every morning, your next door neighbor sat on the front porch of his house with a mug of coffee in hand and a laptop balancing on his lap. Sometimes you’d see him right before you started your route, other times he’d be sitting outside as you finished your cool down lap. Neither of you knew the other’s name or had an actual conversation with each other, but he was a comforting constant in your life, and if you were being honest, he was pretty cute. His early morning scruff, sleepy eyes, and messy hair gave off a very comforting energy that made him definitely your type. 

On of your rare non-training days, you were working on tuning up some of the boards you were considering bringing with you, as well as some new model boards that your sponsors had sent for. None of them were in racing condition from the recent move and it was getting time to get back out on the slopes. The models were being used for some upcoming photoshoots and needed to be at least in both photograph and riding condition. As you were stripping the spent and peeling wax off of one of your favorite boards, you were too focused to see a small body running towards the makeshift workshop you had set up in your backyard. 

You snapped to attention as you felt a tug on your jeans. A little boy in denim overalls and a striped turtleneck was staring up at you with curiosity.

“Hi.” 

“Hey there,” You knelt down to his level, not knowing whose kid this was or where he came from. 

“I lost my ball.” He said softly, “I hit it and it’s gone.”

Looking around your workshop, a large yellow softball had appeared next to your racing board that was drying on the rack behind you. You reach over and grab the ball, holding it out to the boy, but before you could ask if it was his, someone called out in your direction. 

“Joey!” You snapped back around to see your cute neighbor running up and scooping the little boy into his arms. “What did I tell you about running off like that?” 

The little boy, who you now knew his name was Joey, hid his face in the man’s maroon sweater. “’m sorry daddy. We lost my ball. Please don’t be mad.”

Joey’s dad laughed. “It’s alright bud, you just scared me a bit. I’m not mad at you.” He turned back to you, “Sorry about that. We were playing in the front yard and this little slugger hit one out of the park. We didn’t mean to disturb you.” His face turned bright red as your eyes met. 

“It’s no problem!” You reassured him, standing back up and brushing the grime off of your hands. “I was just finishing up anyway so he didn’t get into anything. I’m Y/N by the way.”

“Joe,” Cute neighbor introduced himself. “And I see you’ve have already met Joey.” The little boy laughed as his dad tickled his middle, it was an infectious laugh because the next thing you knew you were lightly laughing too. Looking at the two of them, you saw that Joey looked like an exact replica as his father, they had the same dark ginger hair and bright hazel eyes. Joey’s nose was a bit smaller than his father, but it was too similar not to say it was the same nose. Looking over his shoulder, you saw a little girl with the same reddish hair in pigtails and a matching overalls and turtleneck outfit as Joey.

“Daddy!” She cried out. “Daddy did you find the ball?” 

“I did Daisy girl.” Joe answered, kneeling down to let Joey down as well as talk to her. “Well, miss Y/N helped me and Joey find it.”

You offered the softball to the little girl. “I believe this is yours.”

The girl, who you guessed was named Daisy, nodded and held onto the ball with both hands. 

“What do we say Day?” Joe said, rubbing her back. 

“Thank you miss Y/N.” She said shyly. 

Joe looked back up to you, once again thanking you for finding their ball and apologizing for Joey accidentally interrupting your work. You watched as he held Daisy’s hand when the three of them back over to their front yard and couldn’t help but smile as you finished working. 

\----

Apparently, Jade had noticed the as she called it “mutual pining” that radiated throughout your conversation. That night, she came home with three large bottles of wine and officially declared it a “Jade and Y/N Wine Night.”

Wine night had been a tradition between you and Jade ever since college. It was a night of what Jade described as “No bullshit, lots of wine, and nothing but the truth.”

“So,” Jade slams down bottle #1 on the counter and pulls out her corkscrew. “What is the deal with you and cute neighbor? Don’t tell me all those heart eyes you were making at each other today in the backyard are nothing.” 

You shrugged as you pulled out the extra large wine glasses that Jade had originally gotten you as a joke, but this was a night they would be well used. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Today was the first time that I had actually had a conversation with him, AND he has kids..”

You could feel Jade roll her eyes at you. “Come on Y/N, you know the wine night rules! No bullshit!”

“I’m serious Jade!” You defended yourself, refusing to admit to yourself that she was right. “I have no idea what you are talking about. We haven’t even talked until today, and I definitely didn’t know that he had a kid, let alone two. He’s probably got a girlfriend or a wife or something also.” 

“How do you know that? In all the time that I have lived here I have never seen anyone who would remotely resemble a girlfriend or wife. The only lady I have seen go by his house regularly I am 98% sure is his mom, so go for it.” She explained. “You are a total catch, what’s the worst thing that could happen?”

You scoffed and took a long sip of your wine. “He could say no?” 

Suddenly, you saw Jade’s face light up at something going on behind you. You could see Joe in the open window of both your houses. Jade leapt up from her position on your kitchen island to the open window across the living area and abandoned her half full glass with you. 

“Hey!” Jade hung her top half out the window to try and get his attention, “Hey cute neighbor!”

You could feel your face turning red from embarrassment mixed with the half bottle of rose that you had already drank. “Jade!” You hissed, “He’s not gonna answer to cute neighbor!”

“Well what’s his name then?” She not so subtly asked you. 

“My name’s Joe.” You heard a warm voice call out. “It’s nice to meet you, Y/N’s roommate.” 

Jade let out a tipsy giggle, “I’m Jade and I know you have already met the lovely Y/N. Come drink with us! We got wine!” 

Joe laughed. It was a warm laugh, just like Joey’s laugh, but deeper and also somehow cuter. “Sounds tempting, but I gotta get my munchkins to bed first. I’ll come by later if you two are still up for it.” 

\----

About an hour later, Joe appeared at your doorstep, wearing the same maroon sweater and jeans you saw him in earlier today playing with Joey. Jade handed him a pretty full glass of wine and explained the night’s rules.

As the night went on, you and Joe were totally lost in conversation, neither of you noticing that Jade had went to bed hours ago. The wine had run out, but the two of you were still talking. 

Joe checked the time on his phone and sighed at how late it was for both of you. “Looks like I should be getting back to the kiddos.” He sighed, pulling himself off the couch. “Tell Jade I said thanks for the invite, I had a lot of fun.” 

“I’ll definitely let her know.” You giggled from the alcohol still buzzing in your system as you stood up from your comfy position next to Joe’s recently vacated seat. “You are a lot of fun to hang out with Joe.”

Joe gave you a soft smile that sent the butterflies in your stomach wild. “You are too, Y/N. I’m happy we met.”

The silence as the two of you walked back to Joe’s was deafening. When the two of you got to the small patch of grass that separated the two houses, you knew neither of you were ready for this night to end. Joe turned to face you, his face inching closer and closer to your own as an unknown force pulled the two of you together. 

The next thing you knew, your lips and his connected. The kiss was soft and natural, like you were made for each other. Joe’s hand snaked around your waist to pull you closer as your arms snaked up his broad chest. You melted into another softer kiss, like he was afraid you were going to disappear on him. 

“Goodnight Y/N” Joe whispered against your lips, going in for one more short and sweet peck before walking back across the yard to his house. 

“Goodnight Joe.” You whispered quiet enough that he couldn’t hear as you returned to your own home. 

As you got comfortable in bed later, you saw a message light up on your phone.  _ “Hey it’s Joe. I had a great time tonight, hope we can do something again soon :)”  _

You texted him back almost immediately.  _ “I had a great time too. I’m happy you came over and we got to hang out.”  _

That night, you fell asleep still feeling the imprint of Joe’s soft lips on yours.

  
  



	2. Chapter 2

Over the next two weeks, you and Joe continued to see each other. He still saw you every morning before or after your morning run, but now he would have a cup of coffee ready for you to match his; a splash of almond milk with two spoonfuls of sugar. This had become a regular comfort with the growing chaos in your life with the games getting closer and closer. Your favorite days were when Daisy, Joey, or sometimes both would come out and say hi to you, and today was no exception. 

The four of you were sitting on Joe’s porch one morning after your run, Daisy was resting on her father’s lap and Joey sat between you two. You couldn’t stay for long because you had to pack up your jeep for a photoshoot you were doing today with one of your biggest equipment sponsors, Burton Snowboards. You had finished prepping the three new boards they wanted you to ride today, since it was finally cold enough for the ski mountains to maintain good conditions, but you still hadn’t packed any of the other equipment they wanted you to bring. You had new equipment and random stuff coming in every day from your team and several sponsors, and today you had a very important package coming from the US Olympic team. 

As you sat on Joe’s porch, resting your head on his shoulder thinking about everything you had to do before you left in 2 hours, an idea popped up. 

“Hey Joe, can you do me a huge favor today?” 

“I don’t know if I can do you a huge favor, but I can help you out since I still owe ya for Joey’s ball.” He laughed and kissed the top of your head. The weather may have been cooling down, but Joe’s laughter always warmed you up.

You blushed and leaned in to his touch. “I have to go do a photoshoot today and there’s a package coming to my house today that’s super important. Any way you can swing by my house when the mailman comes and grab it? Jade’s picking up her boyfriend from the airport, so she’s not going to be home until later.”

Joe scrunched his face to pretend like he was thinking really hard about your favor. “Mayyyyybe I can pick it up. I’ll keep an eye out for it for ya and text you when I get it.” 

Unexpected relief washed over you. You didn’t doubt that Joe would help you, but it was very nice to know there was one less thing for you to worry about. 

“You are the best, you know that right?” You looked up. 

He shrugged. “I’ve been told that by one or two people.” 

\-------------

The Burton photoshoot itself went really well. Some of your teammates that were also sponsored by Burton were also in the photoshoot promoting different board styles. You were the primary focus for their alpine boards, which were narrower than their freestyle boards that a lot of the terrain park competitors used, so the photographer got creative with how to do your shoot. You had started at the peak of the ski mountain that had been rented out for the day and did various shots of you holding the boards, some just with your Team USA jacket, and a couple “casual” shots of you and your teammates. As you were prepping for the action shots as well as a video of you riding that they were going to put on the front page of the Burton website, you felt your phone go off from inside your jacket, a text notification from Joe appeared on your screen. 

**Joe** : [attachment: 1 image] _ Hey this was at your front door, idk what this is but it’s big and it’s HEAVY.  _

**You** :  _ Omg thank you!!!! I’ve been waiting for it for a while and you are a lifesaver :))))) _

**Joe** :  _ No problem, just swing by later whenever you’re done. Also I wouldn’t advise going back to your place for a while, your roommate and her bf are very loud.  _

**You** :  _ I am not surprised, they haven’t seen each other in months and the plan was as Jade told me “to have mind blowing sex on every piece of furniture that she owns” and I’m praying she doesn’t touch the couch because we went 50/50 on that.  _

**Joe** :  _ I can offer you my mini steam cleaner if that’s the case…..and you’ll probably need some bleach too _

**You:** _ Hopefully it doesn’t come to that but I appreciate the offer ;) _

**Joe** :  _ You know my couch is always open if you need one _

You felt yourself blush at Joe’s offer. Before you could type out a response, he sent you a photo. 

**Joe** : [attachment: 1 image] _ This little guy just woke up from his nap and is very excited to see you later. He wanted me to send you a picture so you won’t forget us.  _

It was a selfie of Joe and Joey. They were both smiling at the camera as Joey appeared to be sitting in his father’s lap holding a blue stuffed triceratops. The little boy still had a little bit of sleep in his eyes, but he still looked so happy. As for Joe, he still had that million watt smile. He could light up a whole city with it, and it sure as hell lit you up. No picture could ever do Joe or Joey’s similarities justice, but this one was damn close. Joey was a copy-paste clone of his father, down to the way that their eyes scrunched up when they laughed and smiled and the tiny gap they both had in their front teeth, Joey’s was more prominent than Joe’s, but it was still the same gap. 

“That’s a cute picture.” You heard someone behind you. You whipped your head around to find your teammate, Lindsey, looking over your shoulder at the photo. “Is that your boyfriend?”

You felt your face turn red at the mention of the word boyfriend. You tried to come up with an explanation for the photo, but your brain was nothing but static. 

“Oh, uh he-he’s not my boyfriend.” You manage to recover, putting your phone back in the fleece-lined inner pocket of your jacket. “He’s my neighbor and picked up a package for me. We aren’t together or anything.” 

Lindsey gave you a look that read as _sure,_ _keep telling yourself that_. “Well, you definitely got yourself one very cute neighbor.” 

You laughed to calm the sudden rush of nerves you felt in your stomach. They weren’t pre-racing or regular nerves you got from doing these kinds of shoots, this was a whole different feeling that you hadn’t felt in a very long time. 

\-------------

The rest of the shoot went by without a hitch. The photographer and video crew had your team do a total of six runs each to get all the material they needed. The new board they had given you was awesome, it handled very well on the fresh powdery snow. You still had a few tumbles here and there from being a bit rusty and with new equipment on unfamiliar snow, but you had expected that to happen and was able to recover fast. 

As you pull into your garage, you did a quick sound check to see if Jade and her boyfriend were home and telling by the moans coming from inside, you made the decision to go over to Joe’s house for a bit. You left a message for Jade to let her know, not expecting her to answer anytime soon. 

**You** :  _ Hanging out at Joe’s for a bit. Tell Ben I said hi and don’t do anything too stupid _

You stashed your equipment back in your car and stripped off your outer layers down to your jeans and sweater before running across the grass to Joe’s house. You rang the doorbell and were quickly met with the door unlocking and Joe pulling open the door. 

“Hey there stranger,” He grinned. “Come on in.” 

You hadn’t ever made it past Joe’s front porch before, so this was another first for you. The house’s floor plan was pretty similar to yours, but his decor definitely was different. His living room was decorated with various movie posters, some of them you recognized, and a couple you didn’t. There were also various pictures of Joe and the twins hanging on the walls with the posters, you made a quick mental note that there weren’t any pictures of a woman with either Joe or the twins. That did ease the tiny nagging voice that Joe wasn’t single, even though you had nothing to show that he was in a relationship since the two of you met. 

“Miss Y/N!” Daisy and Joey leapt up from their spot on the living room rug and latched onto your legs. They both were still holding onto their favorite stuffed animals they had been playing with before you came in, Daisy had a stuffed black and white penguin, and Joey had the same baby blue stuffed triceratops that was in the picture Joe had sent you earlier. 

“Hey you two,” You laughed, gently peeling the two mini Mazzellos off your legs so you could kneel down to give them both a proper hug. “Have you both been behaving for your daddy?” 

They both nodded enthusiastically, you jokingly turned to Joe who confirmed their enthusiasm. 

“We have a present for you!” Joey bounced excitedly. 

You knew it was the package Joe had picked up earlier that day, but you went along with the little boy’s excitement and pretended to be surprised. “You did? You really shouldn’t have Joey.”

The little boy nodded and pointed to something behind you. “Yea we did! Daddy brought it over and said it was a super special present.”

You hadn’t noticed that Joe heaved the large box into the living room for you to take a look at. The box was bigger in person than how big you thought it was from the picture Joe had sent you earlier. 

Opening the box, you found it was full of different bundles of tissue paper that were all various shades of red, white, and blue. You carefully unwrapped each bundle to reveal various articles of red, white, and navy blue clothes that all went together to create your outfit for the official opening ceremony. Your final outfit consisted of a large outer coat, a winter themed sweater, a navy scarf covered in stars, a pair of dark jeans, large tan gloves, and some thick winter boots with red laces, which is where you guessed most of the package’s weight had come from. 

“Why do you need all these funny clothes Miss Y/N?” Daisy peered into the contents of the box. 

“Well, I’m in a super important race in a couple months, and this is my team uniform.” You pulled out the navy USA beanie you had to wear during the opening ceremony and placed it on her head, but it was so large it drooped down so it covered her eyes. 

Daisy turned to Joe and grinned. “Do I look as pretty as Miss Y/N daddy?”

Joe laughed and picked her up, lifting the beanie so she could properly see. “You look even prettier, don’t you agree Y/N?”

“Yep,” You laughed, “Daisy you look prettier in that hat than any other girl in the whole world with ever look in any other hat.” 

\----------

That evening, Joe offered you to stay for dinner since Jade and Ben were still “celebrating” as Joe explained it to his young son and daughter. They were more than happy to have you stay for dinner and a movie afterwards. You helped Joe get the twins get into their pajamas and ready for bed before the four of you settled on the large sectional couch in Joe’s living room to watch a movie. Both Joey and Daisy insisted on watching Moana because it was their favorite movie and you hadn’t seen it yet. 

The movie itself was adorable and you loved hearing both Joe and the kids sing along to the catchy music, but near the end of the movie you could tell that Daisy and Joey were trying and failing to stay awake. Joe ended up pausing the movie and picking up each twin and perching one on each hip. Joey had wrapped his arms around his father’s neck and rested his head on Joe’s shoulder. Daisy was out cold asleep against Joe’s body. You handed Joe their stuffed animals that you knew at this point they couldn’t sleep without as he headed to the twin’s shared bedroom. 

“Come on you two, time for bed.” Joe whispered, trying to make sure they don’t fully wake back up. Joey groaned and buried his face in Joe’s shirt and Daisy yawned against his shoulder. 

As Joe finished putting them to bed, you picked out a movie for the two of you to watch. Looking through the massive shelf of movies that you owned, you found a movie that caught your eye, Jurassic Park. 

It was your favorite movie growing up. When you were little, you always wanted to be like Dr. Ellie Sattler because she was so cool to 7 year old Y/N. To this day when interviewers asked you who were some of your influences that got you into racing, you never failed to mention Laura Dern or her iconic character. You had noticed Joe had the whole Jurassic Park franchise on both DVD and Blu-Ray, including a couple collector’s edition releases that you hadn’t seen in years. 

“Maybe he’s just a big fan of dinosaurs.” You muttered to yourself as you popped in a Blu-Ray copy of the original Jurassic Park and pulled up the opening menu screen, waiting for Joe to return. 

He came back about five minutes later, reassuring you that the kids were asleep. You made your way back to the couch and got yourselves resettled as you pressed play on the movie. 

“Jurassic Park?” He raised an eyebrow at you as the movie started, wrapping his arm around you. 

You leaned back into his chest and looked up at him. “Hey, it’s one of my favorite movies and I haven’t seen it in a while.”

“Well then I guess we have to watch it then.” Joe leaned down to kiss your cheek and pulled you closer to his chest as the opening credits played on the screen. 

\--------------

The two of you had gotten to the scene where the kids were being chased through the kitchen by velociraptors when you had noticed something about the little boy in the movie that you hadn’t thought of earlier. He looked a lot like Joey, maybe a few years older but still there was a shockingly close resemblance that you couldn’t ignore. 

Then it clicked, like a lightbulb had been switched on. You reached over to the remote and paused the movie, freezing it on a frame of Joey’s lookalike. 

“Hey what was that for?” Joe sat up and looked at you in confusion. “Is everything alright?”

You couldn’t think on the spot of any excuse or preface to what you were wondering, so you just went for it. 

“Is that you?” You pointed at the boy on Joe’s tv. 

Joe sighed and leaned back into the couch, laughing. 

“Joe, I’m serious. Please tell me that you were in one of my all time favorite movies.” You felt your face and ears heat up. 

He nodded. “Yep, that’s me. We actually shot this scene on my birthday, the velociraptor dummy that was chasing me ended up hitting me on the head with its claw and knocking me to the floor.” 

You leaned back into him in disbelief. “You didn’t tell me you were an actor.”

“You didn’t tell me that you’re going to the Olympics.” Joe answered. “I thought you were really good, but I didn’t know you were one of the best in the world.”

You leaned back into the couch, facing him. “The games aren’t for a few months, so I wouldn’t call myself ‘the best’.”

“Well no matter what, I think that you are the best professional snowboarder that I have ever gotten the pleasure of knowing.” Joe reassured you. 

You rolled your eyes and smiled at his comment. “You’re too sweet for your own good Mazzello, you know that?”

He laughed at your question. “I’ve been told that. Now, should we get back to me getting chased by dinosaurs?”

You nodded enthusiastically, but before he started the movie back up, you had one more thing you wanted Joe to know. “Hey Joe,” 

“Hm,” He grumbled, resting his head on your shoulder. 

“For a kid running from dinosaurs, you were pretty adorable.” 

Joe laughed and pulled you in for a kiss, it was just a quick peck but still enough to send sparks through your body. 

As you two finished the movie, you couldn’t avoid the voice in the back of your head adding up all the time you and Joe had spent together. You were spending a growing amount of your downtime with him and his kids, you two were texting each other every day, even if it was just to say hi, and Lindsey as well as several of your teammates at the shoot had asked if he was your boyfriend, which shouldn’t have shaken you as much as it did. It all led up to one inevitable question. 

What exactly were you and Joe now?


End file.
